Over
the years tobacco companies have created many definitions for smoking: chic,
tough, sophisticated, glamorous. The true definition is this: cigarette smoking
draws smoke, fire, and toxic substances into your lungs for the purpose of
giving the body a dose of nicotine, a highly toxic and addictive drug.

Smoking
is also dirty and stinky, looks stupid and reduces your life expectancy. Knowing
all this, why then do 3,000 more young people ages 13 to 17 take up smoking
every day? The cigarette companies are winning. And our young people are the
losers.

Eighty
percent of adult smokers began smoking when they were teens; 90 percent smoked
before they were 21. Ninety-five percent of teens think they'll quit by age
25, but 75 percent of smokers who began in high school are still smoking seven
to nine years later.

The
dangers of tobacco have been all over the television and in all of the newspapers,
yet every day more and more young people pick up a cigarette and start the
habit.

Cigarette
advertising may be one of the main reasons young people start smoking. Another
major factor contributing to the increase in the number of young smokers is
the lax enforcement of laws prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minors.

According
to a recent press release from the Center for the Advancement of Health, a
state-by-state analysis indicates that state tobacco policies may result in
lower teen smoking rates. Researchers from the Saint Louis University School
of Public Health found that states with more extensive tobacco-control policies,
such as New York, Connecticut, California and Rhode Island, had significantly
lower youth smoking rates than did states with fewer such policies, such as
South Dakota, Wisconsin and Kentucky.

State
legislation that helped reduce teen smoking rates included the enforcement
of smoking age restrictions, photo ID requirements for cigarette purchases,
and incrementally severe penalties for stores caught selling cigarettes to
minors.

The
study is published in the October 2000 issue of the American Journal of
Preventive Medicine.

Because
peers are such a powerful influence over young people, it is critical that
SADD chapters attack the issue of tobacco use by their peers and younger students.

WHAT
CAN CHAPTERS DO?

Work
with your state legislators to make sure that your state has extensive tobacco-control
policies.

Visit
your elementary schools to talk to students about the danger of getting
involved in smoking.

Talk
to your town board or city council about banning cigarette vending machines
in your area. Kids who are too young to buy cigarettes from a store often
turn to vending machines. It is illegal but they usually get away with it.

Put
up posters identifying the ingredients in cigarettes. Emphasize what they
are normally used for.

Ask
your school to provide "Stop Smoking" programs for students and
teachers who want to quit.

Conduct
a "Burn your Butts" Day. Ask everyone to turn in their cigarettes.
Plan a ceremonial burning in a hibachi. Provide rewards for those who turn
in their butts.

Visit local supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, and bowling alleys
urging them to be tough on selling cigarettes to minors. You might want
to design an appreciation certificate to present to them.

If
you can prevent one person from taking up smoking or get one person to quit,
you might save a life.

Go
online to the great resources listed below for additional information, ideas
and activities.

Most
smokers start using tobacco before they finish high school. This means that
if you stay smoke-free in school, you will probably never smoke.

Most
teens who smoke are addicted to nicotine. They want to quit smoking, but
they can't. When they try to quit, they experience nasty withdrawal symptoms
-- just like adults do.

Tobacco
is often the first drug used by kids who use alcohol and illegal drugs such
as marijuana.

Kids
who start smoking are more likely to get lower grades in school. They tend
to hang out with other kids who smoke. They may have low self-image and
they don't know how to say no to tobacco.

Cigarette
advertisements are designed to make people think that smoking is cool and
that everybody does it. These ads are misleading. Seventy percent of kids
don't smoke.

Here's
some good news! People working in their communities -- kids who warn each
other about the dangers of smoking and programs that make it harder for
stores to sell cigarettes to kids -- are helping to keep kids away from
tobacco. Do your part!

From
the Surgeon General's Report for Kids about Smoking

WHAT'S
IN A CIGARETTE?

People
really smoke these?

Here's
why tobacco products are killers. They are a combination of deadly ingredients.
Do you and your friends really want to put carbon monoxide, formaldehyde,
acetone and ammonia in your lungs?

Nicotine:
a powerful poison; once used as an insecticide; an addictive drug, just
like heroin and cocaine.

Cyanide:
a deadly poison.

Carbon
Monoxide: a poisonous gas found in car exhaust fumes.

Formaldehyde:
the solution used to preserve dead frogs in biology class.

Methanol:
an additive in (or substitute for) gasoline.

Acetone:
a nail polish remover.

Tar:
a sticky, brown substance that clogs up your lungs and stains your teeth
and fingernails.

Cigars
and chewing tobacco are NOT safe alternatives to cigarettes. Both pose dangerous
health risks and are also addictive and deadly.

BODY
PARTS
Those perfect looking models in cigarette ads are living a lie!
Here's what really happens to your body when you smoke.

Sibley
County Improv Students from the GFW High School visited the 7th graders
at the middle school on Kick Butt's Day Wednesday, April 3. The high school
students performed several scenes related to tobacco use among teens and
adults and then had conversations with the 7th graders about tobacco use
prevention. Kick Butt's Day was celebrated nationwide by many schools
and the middle school SADD students joined in the effort by sponsoring
activities during lunch. Students were asked to sign a "No Tobacco
Use" pledge card and were given stickers and pencils in thanks for
their support.